Chapter 4

The Pandenion Empire, with its long history, firmly believed in a prophecy:

“The second child born among twins to the Imperial Family will become the calamity that opens the Gates of Hell.”

And in Imperial Year 341, that prophecy finally began to unfold.

A tragic event occurred—the Empress gave birth to twins.

The second child, believed to be the ominous being destined to open the Gates of Hell, was secretly abandoned in the cursed Black Forest immediately after birth.

It was the work of her father, Marquis Luteo, who believed the child would become an obstacle to the future of the Empress and their family.

However, the cruel fate foretold by the prophecy did not break as easily as they had hoped.

The turning point came when the baby, whom everyone believed had died, was taken in by Hedius, the leader of the Shadow Bandits, who had made their home in the Black Forest.

Thus, Leo was raised among the bandits.

But one particular incident caused Leo to eventually descend into darkness.

It was the death of Hedius, the man Leo had followed and respected like a father, in some unknown tragedy.

‘Even historians never managed to discover exactly what that incident was.’

On top of that, when Leo learned that he was the abandoned Imperial Prince of the Pandenion Empire and the seed of the cursed calamity, his rage grew beyond control.

From the age of fourteen, Leo began gathering strength alongside the Shadow Bandits and gradually took control of the Empire.

By the time he was around eighteen, he had become an emperor who held the entire continent in the palm of his hand.

And yet, despite all those achievements, he ultimately became a tragic figure who, just as the prophecy foretold, opened the First Gate.

—Or so the history books said.

But no matter how I looked at him, the Leo standing before me was nothing more than a small child.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to me.

‘It’s not really my place to say this after resenting you until just a little while ago, but… you really did have an unfortunate life, didn’t you?’

Seeing the young Leo, who had been abandoned by everyone, rather than the emperor he would eventually become, made my heart soften a little.

I let out a small sigh and murmured,

“But I couldn’t help hating you, either. I hope you can understand that.”

As I spoke, I carefully took the small hand that was still suspended in midair, reaching toward me.

Despite being so small, his hand was slightly rough, as though years of harsh training had already left calluses on it.

Yet it was still soft.

‘No matter what happens in the future, now that things have turned out this way, I can’t simply resent you for who you are right now.’

Perhaps Leo had simply followed an unwanted path according to the life and fate that had been given to him.

After all, they said that the blessing of the gods still existed during this era, and that the prophecies were therefore quite accurate.

‘But if someone like me, who didn’t exist in the past, now exists here, then that must mean this child’s fate—and the future of this world—can change too.’

Wasn’t that exactly why I had been given this quest?

If I could remember the events recorded in the history books that had caused Leo to descend into darkness and prevent those incidents before they happened, perhaps I could also change his fate of opening the Gates.

And my own future…

‘After completing the quest, I’ll start a new life here. A life where I can experience complete freedom and happiness.’

I could see hope.

Only then did my complicated feelings finally begin to feel a little lighter.

“I sincerely hope you can avoid the fate that was given to you this time, Leo Astra.”

With a faint smile, I lowered my head and whispered into Leo’s ear.

As if it had been waiting for that moment, a gentle spring breeze lightly swept through my hair.

After that, I didn’t hesitate.

I blinked and touched the (Accept) button.

The System window trembled unstably before soon displaying a new message.

[System EVA: Quest accepted. From this moment onward, Hunter, your journey officially begins. The ‘View My Status’ window has been activated.]

[(Confirm) / (Cancel)]

I immediately pressed Confirm.

Ibi

21

<Class/Rank> Healing-Type Healer / F-Rank

Heal / Shield

Holy Power

210 / 430

1520 / 1930

851 / 2610

‘What? My nickname and my real name are the same? And all my ability values are exactly the same, too….’

Apparently, although my body had changed, my abilities and soul had remained exactly the same.

‘I suppose this is better than having no abilities at all, but still… I was given a quest to save the entire world, yet my abilities remain exactly the same? Isn’t that a little unfair?’

I couldn’t help grumbling to myself.

“If you’re going to give me a quest like this, couldn’t you at least boost my abilities? Maybe give me the stats of an S-Rank Hunter or something—”

That was when—

“Angel, what’s an S-Rank?”

What?

Was there really someone who didn’t even know what that was?

I had momentarily forgotten where I was while staring at the System window, so I slowly began explaining.

“Um, so an S-Rank is—”

No.

Before explaining that—

‘Wait. What about the Stopwatch?’

I looked down with a blank expression.

Leo was staring up at me with curious eyes.

‘Oh, right. This is the Empire of the past!’

“What’s a Hunter? Is that the language of your country, Angel?”

Apparently, the Stopwatch had disappeared the moment I accepted the quest.

‘What do I do? He must have heard everything….’

Leo stared strangely at me as I repeatedly opened and closed my mouth like a fish.

Then, suddenly, his pretty brows furrowed.

“I’ve been wanting to ask you this for a while. Are you really a human, Angel? I really thought you were an angel. If you’re human, though… that could be a problem.”

The sparkle in the child’s eyes changed in an instant.

I could tell exactly what he was thinking just from that.

Someone who stared into empty space and muttered to herself was already suspicious.

And if she kept rattling off strange words that no one could understand, she would look even more suspicious.

Besides, unless someone was completely out of their mind, they wouldn’t casually enter this Black Forest, which was rumored to be cursed!

‘Ugh. If I were him, I’d be suspicious too.’

If things continued like this, I might not even get the chance to begin the quest.

Before I knew it, the words suddenly slipped out of my mouth.

“I-I am! Yes, I’m an angel! I came down here… specifically to protect you!”

I awkwardly raised the corners of my lips into a smile.

‘Well, technically, that isn’t completely false. I am going to protect you from now on, after all.’

Unexpectedly, Leo’s eyes sparkled with pure innocence.

“Really?”

“Of course. Angels don’t lie, you know?”

“The adults said that guardian angels only descend to children who have been chosen by God. I guess that really was true.”

At my words, the child’s cheeks flushed with emotion.

For some reason, I felt a stab of guilt.

The adults had probably told him that story to encourage him to grow up to be a good child.

But I never expected that Leo to believe such a fairy-tale-like story so wholeheartedly.

I had assumed that being raised by bandits would have made him rough and hardened.

Yet, surprisingly, Leo seemed even more innocent than a child his own age.

‘This might be easier than I thought.’

Once I had told one lie, my confidence increased.

I quickly raised a finger to my lips and said,

“But shh. This is a secret between us. If everyone finds out that I’m a real angel, I’ll disappear in an instant.”

“—Ah! I understand! I won’t tell anyone. I’ll protect your secret, Angel!”

Just as Leo finally seemed to understand a moment later, we hooked our pinkies together and sealed the promise with our thumbs.

That was when—

“Leo!”

A deep man’s voice suddenly rang out from within the forest.

Leo jumped in surprise and grabbed my arm, shaking it as if asking me to put him down.

The moment his feet touched the ground, he hurriedly hid behind my back.

Soon, men dressed in thick leather clothing began appearing one after another.

In an instant, they surrounded us.

“We found Leo. But he’s with some suspicious woman, ain’t he?”

Their sturdy physiques and scar-covered hands and faces suggested that they had undergone years of training.

The moment I saw them, I realized who they were.

‘They’re the Shadow Bandits.’

The very group that would soon conquer the continent alongside Leo.

A middle-aged man with a thick beard suddenly shouted, seemingly without giving the small and delicate-looking woman that was me a second thought.

“Leo, when the hell are you going to stop causing trouble?! There isn’t a single peaceful day around here because of you!”

But Leo’s response was completely unexpected.

“Take everyone back, Hustlear. I’m not going back to the village!”

“…Huh?”

Unable to understand what was happening, my face went pale.

‘The bandits are supposed to be on Leo’s side. Then why…?’

It seemed there was a story between Leo and the bandits that I knew nothing about.

“What do you mean, you’re not going back?! If you’re afraid you’ll be punished for causing that runaway commotion—”

“That’s not it. The Chief wouldn’t punish me over something like this, anyway.”

As he spoke while burying his face against my waist, Hustlear placed a hand against his forehead in frustration.

Meanwhile, a freckled man glanced at me before speaking to Hustlear.

“Vice Chief. Could that woman be the kidnapper who lured Leo away and tried to abduct him?”

Apparently only now noticing my presence, Hustlear glared at me with a deeply suspicious expression.

“That’s right. I was wondering why some strange young woman was with Leo…. Grab that suspicious woman!”

Ah.

No wonder I’d been feeling uneasy.

‘I-I should run first….’

I awkwardly smiled and slowly began stepping backward.

That was when—

“Eek!”

As if issuing a warning, a black object was suddenly thrown down right in front of me.

Dark red blood instantly soaked the wild grass at my feet.

When I looked more closely, I realized it was the very beast that had tried to kill Leo.

“Chief!”

Immediately afterward, a man with black hair came walking toward us.

The surrounding people instantly parted like the Red Sea, and the atmosphere became heavy and oppressive.

“What is all this commotion? Leo.”

His voice was deep and cavernous.

His cold, domineering presence was so overwhelming that it seemed even birds flying overhead would freeze in midair.

The moment he appeared, everyone fell silent.

I knew exactly who he was.

He was Hedius, the leader of the Shadow Bandits—

the man Leo regarded and followed like a father.